With help from Darius Dixon, Erica Martinson, Andrew Restuccia and Matt Daily

MURKOWSKI PUSHES FOR CONDENSATE EXPORTS: Six federal agencies “routinely distinguish” between crude oil and condensate, according to a new report released by Sen. Lisa Murkowski that calls on the Commerce Department to allow for wider condensate exports. Her report says the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs all differentiate between crude and condensate in “in resource assessments, production levels, environmental reviews, and other regulatory activity.” The report: http://1.usa.gov/1r8Ys3C

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— “Condensate exports are an easy first step on the road toward a broader lifting of the oil export ban,” Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. “We are producing more condensate than the U.S. market can use, but customers overseas would be happy to purchase it. Commerce’s decision to classify processed condensate as a freely exportable petroleum product is consistent with the spirit and letter of the law, but it could go further. Global markets need the certainty that reclassifying condensates would provide.” Murkowski, a vocal supporter of lifting the decades-old ban on crude oil exports, is set to meet with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker next week.

THUNE, SENATORS PUSH COMMERCE DEPARTMENT FOR NEW CNG/LNG RETAIL UNITS: Senate Commerce Committee ranking member John Thune wants the Commerce Department to accept a proposal by the National Conference of Weights and Measures to allow retailers who sell compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas in diesel gallon equivalent units because gas competes with diesel. Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology has reservations about the proposal and would prefer LNG and CNG be sold in kilograms, according to a letter being sent today. But Thune, along with Amy Klobuchar and more than two dozen other senators, say the NCWM proposal would better serve consumers and manufacturers. A recent DOE report concluded “that consumer interest in alternative fuels generally increases when the cost savings ‘per gallon’ increase,” they write. “Without marketing of CNG and LNG in gallon equivalents, such price comparisons will be unrealistically difficult for consumers — or potential consumers — to make.” The letter: politico.pro/1miEpzi

— The non-profit NCWM will hold its annual meeting next week in Detroit and is slated to take up a recommendation from its natural gas steering committee on the issue, according to Thune's office.

FARE THEE WELL: Morning Energy bids farewell to Talia Buford as she leaves POLITICO. An expert on Keystone XL, fracking, day drinking and more, we wish her good luck — particularly now that she has to wait until late morning to read ME.

FLOOR WATCH — HOUSE TO WRAP UP ENERGY AND WATER SPENDING BILL: While you were enjoying your Wednesday evening — and we were trying to enjoy ours — the House loaded up eight amendments for the energy and water spending bill that are expected to get votes around 2:30 p.m. today. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the top Democrat on the energy and water appropriations subpanel, managed to add $500,000 to the Energy Information Administration’s budget on a voice vote. We don’t expect many of the amendments to get approved — Rep. Tom McClintock’s amendment to cut $121 million from several DOE offices as well as the NRC comes to mind — but here are a few we’re watching:

— Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) has an amendment to increase funding for DOE’s renewable energy and efficiency office by $9 million, a modest boost compared to other Democratic efforts that have already gone down in flames.

— ARPA-E ally Rep. Adam Schiff has an amendment — as he seems to have every year — that would put more money into the program. In 2011, he famously managed to add $80 million more for ARPA-E with an amendment that won approval on the floor by a single vote. This year he’s asking for a quarter of that.

— Rep. Dina Titus has two amendments on the board attempting to block life support for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project. The Nevada Democrat’s has an amendment to slash all $150 million appropriators flagged for DOE to put towards the tortured effort as well one striking language in the bill prohibiting anyone from spending any money to undermine the project. Titus’s amendments are expected to see lopsided losses but may also, ironically, demonstrate the bipartisan support the project still has after years of being starved of funds by the most powerful member of her state’s delegation.

MEANWHILE, IN THE SENATE: Lawmakers are scheduled to vote today on Shaun Donovan's nomination to be director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, as well as ambassadors to Kuwait and Qatar. The Senate yesterday also cleared by unanimous consent the Geothermal Production Expansion Act, a bipartisan bill that would authorize the Bureau of Land Management to offer noncompetitive leases of up to 640 acres of land adjacent to geothermal resources in order for geothermal companies to expand.

AND COMING SOON: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed for cloture on President Barack Obama's FERC nominees Cheryl LaFleur and Norman Bay, which could get them both confirmed next Tuesday. The vote for cloture is expected to happen at noon next Tuesday with a confirmation vote at 3 p.m. the same day. They will only need a majority vote to clear the cloture hurdle.

E&C WANTS EPA CLIMATE RULE DOCS, THREATENS SUBPOENA: The House Energy and Commerce Committee told EPA yesterday that the agency needs to stop stalling and fork over documents related to its proposed greenhouse rule for future power plants. The committee said that despite ongoing requests since March, EPA has not provided the documents they need for oversight of the controversial proposal. And EPA has indicated that they're not likely to see them before the rule goes final next June. The committee made a moderately veiled subpoena threat, saying that if EPA doesn't comply by July 23, it will "compel" the agency to do so.

— EPA staff said in May 20 meeting with the committee that it had 7,000 documents lined up for review. But so far, the agency has only shared one document that wasn't already publicly available, the committee said in a letter to EPA Wednesday. The committee chastised the agency for plans to withhold "deliberative" documents, a standard they said doesn't apply to Congress.

SPOTTED: Maggie Fox and former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar spoke ahead of President Barack Obama at yesterday’s DSCC fundraiser in Denver. Fox, the former head of Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, is married to Sen. Mark Udall. Also on hand were former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and former Energy Secretary Federico Peña. Signs spotted outside the event, via the White House pool report: “No freaking fracking,” “Pollute no more,” and “No KXL,” and of course, “Yes We Cannabis.”

** Innovation Is Growing In The Corn Fields of America. There is More You Should Know About America’s Biggest Crop. **

TRANSCANADA PUSHED BACK on Tuesday’s POLITICO story ( http://politico.pro/1qIc3j0) that tighter safety regulations on oil train shipments could set back efforts to get U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. In an email, TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard disputed the contention that oil train shipments would be disrupted by new safety rules, and he cited estimates that 1.2 million barrels per day of rail capacity would be available in Western Canada by the end of 2015. TransCanada is indeed serious in its discussions with its customers to consider a “rail bridge,” although its first priority remains building the pipeline, he said. “As long as that demand is there, TransCanada will work with its suppliers to ensure that product gets to the American people safely and economically — be it pipeline or rail,” he said.

JUDGE WON’T RE-OPEN STREAM BUFFER ZONE SUIT: A federal judge yesterday declined to re-open a lawsuit regarding a George W. Bush-era coal mining rule that was struck down earlier this year. Judge Barbara J. Rothstein of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the 2008 stream buffer zone rule in February after determining it violated the Endangered Species Act. But environmental groups want her to also rule in a separate suit whether the 2008 rule violates NEPA, the Administrative Procedure Act and other laws. Rothstein says that her earlier ruling that struck down the rule makes this second suit moot. “[A]ny opinion that this Court were to offer regarding whether the vacated rule violated the NEPA, CWA, and/or APA would necessarily be advisory, something a federal district court is prohibited from doing.” Rothstein’s order: http://politico.pro/1n8EbGa

AFP HITS LANDRIEU OVER ‘CLOUT’: Americans for Prosperity has a new ad campaign out attacking Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Mary Landrieu for bragging about the “clout” her gavel brings oil- and gas-rich Louisiana. From the ad: “But what has the post brought Louisiana? Crushing EPA regulations that will hurt us more than any other Gulf state, fewer energy jobs, and higher energy costs for families living paycheck to paycheck. … Tell Mary Landrieu her clout’s not working.” AFP is spending $940,000 airing this ad and another hitting Landrieu over Obamacare. Watch: http://youtu.be/4yEj1Q0vUYA

— Landrieu campaign manager Adam Sullivan tells the Times-Picayune: “What we've seen today is a despicable new low on behalf of the shady group Americans for Prosperity, but unfortunately these kind of misleading attacks have become par for the course from the Koch brothers.” http://bit.ly/1k7mXsZ

LCVAF BACKS DEMOCRAT LEWIS IN MONTANA HOUSE RACE: The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund has endorsed Democrat John Lewis in Montana's House race this fall, citing his support for conservation and clean energy. Lewis was a longtime aide to former Sen. Max Baucus. Montana’s current at-large congressman, Republican Steve Daines, is running for Senate. The seat is generally expected to remain Republican, which it has been since 1997.

— Alabama Power plans to turn a former steam plant in Birmingham into an entertainment and cultural center. Al.com: http://bit.ly/1jqWhbV

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a great day.

** America's corn farmers exported $6.3 billion worth of corn last year — one of the few U.S. products with a trade surplus (USDA). Learn more at www.CornFarmersCoalition.org **

** A message from Vet Voice Foundation: Tens of thousands of service members and veterans rely on public lands to hunt, fish, camp and heal from the wounds of war. These lands are part of the American heritage we fought for. As a new President and Congress look to rebuild America's infrastructure, we call on them to make an equal investment in maintaining our public lands and parks for our service members and all Americans. Support for our veterans must extend to investing in and protecting America’s natural heritage, for our children and grandchildren. www.VetVoiceFoundation.org **

Authors:

About The Author

Alex Guillén is an energy reporter for POLITICO Pro, where he covers EPA, regulations and coal, as well as lobbying and campaign finance in the energy realm. He previously wrote the Morning Energy newsletter. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a degree in anthropology and English. He is an avid reader and TV binger. The Delawarean, thrilled that there are finally Capriotti’s outposts in Washington, lives in Alexandria, Va.